


We Move Forward

by Pherae



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Fluff, Forgiveness, Other, WoL is ambiguous, just a general feel-good fic with a dash of feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 07:02:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10804170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pherae/pseuds/Pherae
Summary: Mistakes happen, and the Warrior will forgive just as Haurchefant would wish for them to.





	We Move Forward

**Author's Note:**

> Tried to make the WoL very ambiguous in race and gender, as I tend to prefer it that way, so feel free to imagine your own. Also takes place sometime in the storyline after 3.3, so very obvious spoilers if you haven't reached that point yet.
> 
> This was kinda a spur of the moment random idea drabble, one of those that smacks you at 3am and won't quit bugging you until you write it
> 
> So to spite it, I wrote it, and now it's stopped bugging me

Out of everything the Warrior of Light was, only recently had they begun to realize that even a being blessed by the light of Hydaelyn herself had limits.

Limits that were tested each day, in numerous ways. Whether it be towards slaying primals or felling gigantic beasts and myths that danced only in fairytales, the Warrior of Light was hailed as a hero across the nation. No one stopped to consider that they too held weak points.

That they _too,_ were once merely human.

In the area they stood currently, they hoped this would not be such a situation that would put them to a different test. Here, high upon one of Ishgard’s looming bridges that connected the magnificent towers together. It was the last place they would have thought to be today, but as sudden propositions are wont to go, it came as no surprise.

What _did_ surprise them, was the one that made the proposition in the first place.

Glancing in the direction of the man that stood tall beside them, they waited for him to speak. Watched as the gusts of cold air blew his robes about and tussled his raven dark hair. Truly, he was a man of dignity, one that demanded respect from air alone; but even yet, that aura he carried bore naught but a gentle understanding, unjudging towards those before him.

Aymeric de Borel was truly too kind for his own good -- selfless, just as the Warrior was.

Perhaps that’s why they grew closer as time pressed on, fought together through countless hardships that would have brought a common man to his knees.

“I do hope you can forgive me for requesting you up here at such short notice, my friend. I knew not where else to ask you to go.” Aymeric drew in a deep breath, then breathed out, but his frozen eyes still refused to glance in the Warrior’s direction. “‘Tis a rather beautiful sight up here, but it also alludes well to privacy.”

At that, the Warrior fully agreed. While it was chilly up here, more so than it would have been down below, it was at least private. After all, not many possessed a means to climb up here - or fly on dragonback, in the case of the lord commander and his dear friend - so there would be no one to disturb them, this time.

It did lend a little bit of worry to the Warrior, however, unknowing as to why Aymeric requested such privacy all of a sudden.

That was a question answered when he next spoke, and finally those pale eyes landed upon them.

“...The scenery is not what I summoned you here for, admittedly. Though I am full certain you already knew of that.” 

The Warrior nodded, and Aymeric cleared his throat to continue.

“There is a question that has been burning in mind for a long while now. One I knew not how to ask, as I could not find the words to speak it. I suppose, however, there is no good way to ask it…”

Aymeric seemed crestfallen.

It was odd to see him so downcast, and it made the Warrior frown in turn. Reaching, they gave him a gentle pat and a nod of their head, encouraging him to continue. It earned a small smile at least, albeit obviously troubled, but continue Aymeric did.

“My friend… why is it that you do not resent me?” 

The Warrior furrowed their brow, and they could tell by the look in Aymeric’s eyes that he was expecting to be yelled at. To be scolded for something, but they knew not what. Gently, they pressed him on the meaning to his question, and he sighed.

“Haurchefant.” That name made the Warrior’s breath hitch, and Aymeric swiftly continued, “why do you not resent me for charging into the Vault so recklessly? For inadvertently taking Haurchefant’s life?”

Now they understood his want for privacy. This wasn’t an easy thing to speak about, even after the amount of time that has long passed since Haurchefant had been buried. It wasn’t something they had initially thought about, placing the blame on Aymeric -- but it was a thought that had crossed their mind once or twice much later.

Yet, they could never bring themselves to blame Aymeric, and if they did at one point, they had already forgiven him by now.

It was all an accident. A horrible one, but it was not one done with cruel intent. Aymeric was a man that would do everything for his country and kin, and the Warrior knew that. At heart, he was driven by goals just as they were -- a duty to protect those in need, and forge a brighter tomorrow.

They shook their head, then, looking at the raven haired elezen with that knowing smile tugging at their lips. Aymeric seemed confused, for a moment. Rather, he looked like a puppy that was preparing to be scolded, knowing that it had just done something it shouldn’t have.

It was a scolding that never came. 

Instead, his question was met with a tight hug, one that caught Aymeric fully off guard if the small gasp that left his lips was of any indication. 

“My friend…?” Aymeric breathed, and they hugged him tighter. After a long moment, he let out a shuddering exhale and wrapped his arms around them in turn, loose and gentle. “How? How can you not blame me? Was Haurchefant not your lover?”

Ah, so Aymeric knew that, too. 

Something that the Warrior and Haurchefant admittedly weren’t too subtle about, in the end. 

They merely nodded and drew back, meeting Aymeric’s astonished gaze and giving a simple reply to his words. He was correct. Haurchefant _was_ their lover, and still is, in some form. It was not his fault, however, what had happened. None of them knew what the outcome would be, and worrying about such things at such a later point of time was pointless.

The Warrior didn’t blame him, and he shouldn’t blame himself either.

Aymeric wore a shocked expression at those words. An expression the Warrior couldn’t ever quite remember seeing on his face. Well warranted, however; they would be surprised too if they were in his shoes. 

“I… ah, that was not quite the reply I was expecting, if I am to be honest…” Slowly, a smile crept to Aymeric’s lips. A smile of pure relief, as though a weight had just been lifted from shoulders and heart. “You truly do not hold any anger towards me? Discomfort...?”

They shook their head, and Aymeric’s smile grew.

In the end, however, it was always hard to forget the nights where Haurchefant was alive and well. The nights they spent cozied in front of the burning hearth together, wrapped in a large blanket and snuggled together without a care in the world. Those nights would always be the Warrior’s favorite, in memory and feeling. 

They shut their eyes, recalling temporarily of a quieter time.

A time where they loved, and received love in turn from the man that had stolen their heart, just as they had taken his. Haurchefant was a dazzling man, radiant and kind. Protective and selfless, always putting his shield between them and the enemy if he could help it, and at the end of the day he would be the one to look them over and tend to their wounds. 

The gentleness of his touch belied the callouses on his fingertips as he would take their arm in hand and carefully wrap gauze around their wounds. The Warrior always found it cute how his brow would quirk into a serious glance, truly at focus as though he were handling an item of utmost delicacy. They allowed him to hold them however he wished, but they also knew he didn’t think of them as being frail.

If anything, Haurchefant seemed to fear their power as much as he respected it, and gladly became their shield as much as they were his. 

If only he could be here now, was a thought the Warrior held many a time. Be here to hold them, and allow them to embrace him as well. Just as they always had before, after waking up together and donning their armors, only to pull each other in for a chaste kiss and a briefly tight hug. 

Gods above how they missed him.

Aymeric would never know the extent of how much they cared for one another. No one would. But the Warrior preferred it that way; Haurchefant was theirs, after all, in all of his quirks and odd mannerisms. Theirs, in body and heart.

“Thank you.”

The sudden chime of Aymeric’s voice drew them back from their brief remembrance. The raven haired elezen was smiling wide, now. Happier, and seeming much more like the man they remembered him being.

“You truly are someone special, my friend. Do not ever let anyone tell you otherwise.” The lord commander chuckled, and they huffed a laugh as well, giving a nod to his words. “Stay as you are now, forever and always; hold that kindness close to your heart.”

Aymeric didn’t need to tell them that. It was something they already knew, and something Haurchefant used to praise them over time and time again. For what reason, though, they never quite knew.

They just followed their heart and did as it told them in the end.

Silence drew over the two of them for a long moment, before Aymeric spoke again. They conversed for a long while about various subjects, topics of importance, and minimal things about their daily lives. It always varied in aspect when they spoke with the lord commander. 

While he was similar to Haurchefant in a number of ways, they still weren’t quite ready to fully open their heart to him just yet, so they found themselves still keeping some things secret.

Perhaps in time Aymeric could become someone closer to them. When things settle down, and they are able to roam freely again without obligation. Or, perhaps not; only time could honestly tell, but as it stood right now, he was something akin to a close friend to them.

Upon helping Aymeric down from their perch, the Warrior bid him farewell, watching as he left with a near spring in his step. It was nice to see him revitalized in some form. When they had first arrived to speak, he was downcast as though bearing a special raincloud above his head… but no longer. 

They watched the lord commander until he was out of vision, once the fluttering of his robes fully rounded the corner and he headed towards home. The Warrior turned away, then, and set for the gates of Ishgard. They had a destination, today; though it wasn't one specifically asked of them. A very special place to visit, after they picked up a small bouquet of flowers as a gift.

It had been a long while since they had visited Haurchefant’s memorial; today was as good a day as ever. 

They had a lot to catch up on, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> WoL/Haurche has been my weakness since I first met him and learned more about him, I should write it more, huh


End file.
